Power Play
by ImDefinitelySane
Summary: Um..The team goes after something Bats keeps calling a Power Cell. turns out a Power Cell is actually a person that has the ability to maximize others superpowers. Extremely powerful and extremely rare. And the light wants one. The team finds a dead end but is Robin not telling them everything? of course not he's Robin. BirdFlash, Kid Flash x Robin
1. Prank Planning

I cover my mouth to keep from laughing. the speedster known as Wally West is crouched down at my side with a devious smirk and a mischievous glint in his eyes. Wally seems like a hopeless idiot most of the time, and don't get me wrong i love the bumbling idiot just as much maybe more than everyone else on the team, but sometimes he has these moments of pure genius that usually result in me stifling a laugh and him grinning like a mad man beside me.

This latest escapade stated with me warping into the cave and then immediately being carried at high speed into the speedsters room. the door is slammed shut and i'm thrown onto the bed.

Wally never uses his room in the cave, well at least not for conventional means. He always returns to his 'normal' life after a mission, like Artemis and I, so his room in the cave is only ever used for prank planning and emotional breakdowns.

I've never been present during one of his breakdowns but i have heard them. the ponding on the walls at high speeds in hard to miss, and the dents in the walls is evidence enough.

I look at me best friend and almost laugh at the look of pure excitement on his face. i smirk, practically purring. I love it when he gets like this. The first time i saw him like this was a few days after our first mission. Bats was furious with us for fighting amongst ourselves during a mission, just barely being able to salvage it.

He spent a good few hours going off on us before threatening to shut the team down if we couldn't sort out our differences. Artemis decided it would be a good idea to lock wally and i into a room together until me 'made nice' as Kaldur put it.

The first hour was spent in silence with the occasional glare Until the speedster came up with a prank that ended with a neon green-haired Superboy and the both of us laughing our butts off. A few pranks later and the two of us were inseparable.

We spent the majority of our free time together planning pranks and sometimes just talking. It was nice to have someone that felt like a real friend and not someone that was pretending to be my friend for Bruces money. Wally was my best and maybe only real friend i had. And he was the only person i had ever considered disobeying an order from bats for.

It was a silent request. we had gotten to the point where we didn't really need to speak to convey what we wanted, and I knew exactly what the speedstur wanted without him having to say a word. Although actions speak louder than words so…

We were in my room then. The room i use to escape the life i chose to live. To get away from the fighting and the death and bats and just plain being Robin. It's the room i use to prevent what Wally uses his room for.

I was reading a book, The Stand by Stephen King, with the book propped up on my folded and raised knees as to give Wally more room at the end of my bed. He was laying horizontally with his upper body hanging upside down over the edge.

I occasionally peeked around the side of the book to find the speedster staring up at the ceiling with a blank expression. He was thinking and that is rarely a good sign. Wally is smart. Really smart. He notices things and rolls them around in his head until he finally snaps and does something stupid.

He notices my staring and tilts his head so his eyes meet my covered ones. I look away quickly returning my gaze to the book but i let out a rather unmanly squeak when the kid flash is peaking over the top of my book.

I see a hint of amusement in his jade colored eyes and i pout. He chuckles and shifts his weight slightly so he is no longer supporting himself with his hands. A serious look adopts the fetchers of his face, and something i don't recognize appears in his eyes. It's like… preregret? like he's about to do something he knows he'll regret….Its making me extremely uncomfortable.

"Dude, personal spa-" He cuts me off by lifting his hands to the shades covering my eyes. he doesn't actually take them off, he doesn't even touch them. He just holds them a few inches away. He's not trying to take them off, he's asking if he can.

Bats had given me strict orders not to let anyone see my eyes when i'm Robin, But this is wally, my best friend, and for the first time since Bats took me in I considered disobeying a direct order from him. But i couldn't. The fear of disappointing the Batman was too great. But i had considered it. I really had, and that fact seemed to be enough for the speedster because he smiled, even when i shook my head.

He never asked again after that. I had expected him to. Wally isn't known for his ability to stay quiet and I had expected to be bombarded with questions. Bats would have a fix if he knew Wally had threatened my secret ID just once, I don't know what would have happened if he hadn't stopped.

But he did. And things went back to normal. I would still catch the speedster staring sometimes and I had no doubt that he was wandering. I would always shot him an apologetic look and he would immediately look away.

It was obvious that he still wanted to know. the seed of curiosity had been planted and it wasn't going to go away just like that, But he was respecting my uncertainty in showing him. And that was making me all the more uncertain.

I wanted him to know. I wanted him to know so badly that it hurt sometimes. And its not just my ID I wanted to share with him. I wanted to tell him everything. I wanted to spill my juts, tell him about my hopes and fears and insecurities...About my past...My parents..

I wanted to hide nothing from the boy known as Wally West. And it hurt so much that i couldn't. I never felt so...Myself around anyone like this before. Not even when I was Dick Grayson.

Not even when I was with Bruce.


	2. Files 470 and 678

The alarms echo throughout the cave as the team is signaled to come to the main meeting room. I realize that we have a mission and that Bats will likely be zetaing in any second. I look at Wally wide eyed and he returns my look with one of his 'we're so screwed' ones.

The zeta tube calls out Batman's name and number as well as The Flash's and both tubes light up. Hope sparks in both mine and Wally's eyes. I had only hacked one of the tubes. If Bats comes though the other then we might be ok. Might being the key word here. It's a 50/50 chance between life and death...I am so welmed.

The Flash is teleported in wearing only his boxers and the mask part of his suit. I had programed it to be secret ID friendly so no real harm could come from it. Bats appears seconds after, fully clothed in the other one. He raises an eyebrow at The Flash's 'choice' of attire. The flash is back in his bright red monstrosity of a costume within a blink of an eye.

He rubs the back of his neck in embarrassment most likely due to the batman print boxers he was wearing. KF and I both fall on our backs as the entire situation resolves itself, to relieved that it all worked out to find it funny. Yet.

The rest of the team finally makes their way into the room. Artemis shoots Wally and I a questioning look before addressing the two leaguers in the room. Wally and I glance at each other from our places on the floor. We both try and hold back the laughter but fail miserably as we start to roll around on the floor.

By this point the entire team Is mimicking Artemis's questioning look from before. Well all except Bats who has a mixture of a knowing and an annoyed look. He must have connected the dots of an almost naked Flash and his apprentice and his apprentice's best friend rolling on the floor laughing.

I'll hear hell for it later, after all it could have been an almost naked Bats up there, but for now I was enjoying the rare moment I only get with Wally of actually acting my age. You don't often get the chance to be a kid when you are constantly being hunted down by gotham's worst.

Bats sighs and crosses his arms. I can tell he's annoyed with my behavior and i'm about to stop when Wally accidentally rolls into me. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but the circumstances are a bit different with me. My breath hitches as I feel the energy transfer. My eyes widen and I roll away as quickly as I can. I act as though nothing happened and Bats seems to be the only one that noticed.

His stance shifts slightly and if you hadn't worked side by side with him for years you wouldn't have recognized it as a worried stance. I laugh it off and stand up. I sent Bats what I hoped was a reassuring glance and he nods, returning his attention to the group.

"Robin, bring up files 470 and 678." My eyes widen at the command. Why those files? Why now? Why _those_ files?

"Robin?" Wally's worried voice snaps me out of my thoughts and I quickly pull up the requested files. The first is a file that explains what exactly a Power Cell is. Well, as best the league can with only 5 known to have existed and none of which living long enough to be studied.

The second file is the short list of known Power Cells and the basic info gathered before they were killed. I clance my fists and look away from the first name on the list.

****

**-MARY GRAYSON-**


	3. Power Cells

I use the techniques Bats taught me to slow my heart rate. I close my eyes and take in a slow deep breath, clearing my mind of all ill thoughts. That is until the obnoxiously loud voice of Wally west interrupts my meditation. My breath hitched for the second time in the past ten minutes and I look at the redhead in mild shock.

"Dude, Power Cells?! We have a mission that involves Power Cells!?" He's jumping up and down in excitement and I start to see double as he unknowingly begins to use his super speed. I swear this boy will be the end of me.

"You know of them?" Bats' voice is calm but his muscles are tense. Power Cells are suppose to be top secret. Only those that have come in direct contact with a Power Cell should know of there existence. Wally shouldn't know. So he either did a significant amount of hacking or someone that shouldn't have told him, told him.

"Yea!" A look of pure joy appears on his face and I raise and eyebrow. He's acting like its his life dream to be involved with the Power Cells. "My uncle told me about them! They're like a power up in a video game! They enhance the superpowers of those around them! It's so cool~"

He's jogging in place now with his eyes closed in excitement. I chuckle at his description of them. Bats glares at The Flash who shrinks down slightly under his gaze smiling nervously. Not many people hold their ground when they're on the receiving end of a bat glare.

"Thats a rather...crude way of putting it." He looks over the holographic images of the files worriedly before continuing. "But thats not entirely true…" His voice is gruff and laced with annoyance but I think I can hear some uncertainty in there too...I can't be sure though..

Wally pouts and I can't help but giggle at it. He glares at me playfully and I stick out my tongue at the jr Flash. I immediately regret it when he sends me one of those 'i'll have my revenge' smirks that never fail to send chills down my back.

I'll have to watch my back for a few days. Wally can be incredibly stealthy when he wants to be. He's even managed to sneak up on me once. I did happen to have a temperature of 102.7 at the time but he managed to get a squeak out of me, to which I promptly returned the favor a few days later. The team still teases him about it~

I'm pulled out of my happy memories as Bats starts to explain Power Cells to the team. He goes on about how they store energy over a period of time and can then use that energy to supercharge other superpowers. After that charge is gone they have to store up more and it can be dangerous if the energy level of a Power Cell hits zero. They learned that the hard way...but this is all stuff I already know.

I tune him out as he moves on to explain the two types. Alpha and Omega. Alpha Power Cells are even rarer. Out of the five known Power Cells only one of them was an Alpha. Theres one more Alpha that only me and Bats know about and we would both like to keep it that way.

Omegas are powerful but they are nothing compared to an Alpha. Alphas store a hell of alot more energy and the replenish it faster. There the ultimate power generator of supers. To the point where both sides will do whatever it takes to keep it out of the others hands...Even it it means killing it…

Which is why me and Bats decaded to keep the other Alpha a secret. As long as he doesn't show his power he'll be safe. At least i hope so…

Maxing out on energy is just as dangerous as bottoming out. When they near their max they start to emit sparks. Not only is it painful but it it would give away that they are a Power Cell.

If they don't release some energy in a controlled fashion soon after that, it ill find it's own way out in a very uncontrolled fashion. It kills the Power Cell and jumps to the nearest conductors.

They found that out the hard way too...


	4. Overload and Bottoming Out

What could Bats want with the Power Cells now? And how are we involved? Have they found a new one? Or did one of the old survive?

I skim over the teams expressions and engraving them into my mind. Most were curiosity or pity. Wally's was excitement. I can't help but smile at the older boy. He seems so happy...He doesn't notice my staring, to absorbed in Bats explanation, and I return my attention to the files.

It's strange talking about something Bats had me sware I would never breath a word about. It was nice to be responsible for hiding one less secret from them. They were my friends and I hate lying to them. I still had millions more to hid but every little bit counts.

Bats starts going over the effects of bottoming out and I watch as a good portion of the team adopts a sympathetic look. My expression remains blank. Bottoming out never seemed as bad an overload. Bottoming out was relatively painless, manifesting in the form of flu symptoms until the power cell passed peacefully in their sleep. And it didn't pose any threat to the conductors around it.

An Overload was violent, agonizing, and if there weren't enough conductors to sustain the energy in the immediate vicinity it would flood the bodies of the conductors present giving them more energy then then they could really handle. It ultimately led to the death of both the power cell and the unlucky conductors around it.

If I had to choose between the two, bottoming out seems like the much better way of going.

An alpha overload would be devastating. The amount of conductors needed to level it out would be immense. And even then there was no guarantee they would survive the shock.

The theory, more like myth, bats would never let me forget flutters through my mind. The scientists studying the power cells noticed that each of the subjects had a different max capacity, distinctive only to them. Same with the conductors.

They kept spewing nonsense about how they thought every power cell had a conductor that matched their max energy level perfectly. Like a soulmate. I never believed it though. Is sounds like something the scientists made up to comfort the cells.

I mean theres no way someone would be able to sustain the max level of an alpha. Not on their own. It's just not possible. And I never found much point to wishful thinking.

"And that's where all of you come in." I'm snapped out of my thoughts be Bats' words and actually start listening to what he's saying, excited to finally get to the mission. The Dark Knight flicks his hand so the files switch places, bringing the list of cells to the front. He scrolls down to the third on the list and enlarges it. A picture of a girl about Wally's age is displayed to the right of the stats and traits the scientists noticed. She has long brown hair and golden eyes. Strange eye color is common among power cells. I got lucky with just a hyped up version of the color blue.

"We have reason to believe that this omega power cell survived what we thought was a bottoming out. Her and her brother have been spotted in gotham and your mission is to track her down without drawing any attention to her location."

"Ah. That must be why you need the team. The justice league knocking on your door is bound to draw a crowd. But so would a bunch of kids in costumes. Its not halloween so what's the plan?" I ask not letting my voice betray my excitement. This power cell might be alive. This could be my chance to finally talk with one! A real, living power cell! o-other than that alpha I mentioned before… Bats nods before answering my question.

"I agree that going as you are now would draw attention, so I have made arrangements for you to go in with you secret IDs. Which brings me to my next order of business..." He turns to me and my eyes widen as I realize what he is going to say before he says it, and dreading the words that I know he will say.

"You'll be sitting this one out, Robin."


	5. Mother

Please review! It motivates me to write more. Thanks! ~Sanity

* * *

He can't be serious! He can't really expect me to sit here and do nothing when this could be my one and only chance to talk with someone like me! To learn about what I am! I-i mean… Ok enough with the lying to myself. I've already slipped up enough and pretending that i'm not a power cell isnt going to change the fact that I am one. And we all know that Bats 'The enemy can't sense a lie if you believe what you're saying' speech is just a bunch of bull.

Cells don't usually know there a cell until their late teens, when they start to feel the effects of an overload. My mother, Mary Grayson, was also a power cell, and she was able to notice the signs in me at a much younger age.

All that really meant was that I learned how to hide it sooner than most. Hiding the fact is the only thing a power cell really can do. I think that was a big part of why we were circus performers. It's a lot easier to hide something if you're constantly on the move.

That didn't save her though. She was still killed. Even if it had nothing to do with he being a power cell she could never live a normal life. And she was killed for it. They always are.

Which is why I have to talk to the only one that lived! She must know something, anything, about us! Surely Bats sees this! Surely he knows how much I need this! I clench my fists and try to bite back the urge to yell at my mentor. Artemis speaks up before I have the chance.

"So how exactly are we supposed to find this girl? Going door to door isn't an option, and how do we even know she'll talk with us when we do find her? she went dark for a reason, she obviously doesn't want to be found." She has her arms crossed and a raised eyebrow. Bats doesn't seem affected by her question and flicks his hand again and another file takes the place of the girls.

"Because she reached out to us. She wishes to speak with this boy, which makes him your only means of convincing her to talk. She gave an address in her letter."

My eyes are wide as I stare at the file Bats has displayed for the team. I blink a few times as I start to connect the dots of Bats plan. I almost choke at Wally's remark of 'Dude, he has really pretty eyes' as he walks up to the hologram for a better look.

"Isn't that Bruce Wayne's kid? I've seen him on TV before." Artemis asked an uninterested and maybe slightly annoyed look on her face. "Do we really have to take him? I'm not good with pompous rich kids."

I almost can't hold back the laughter at how Bats is struggling to decide if he wants to glare at Wally for staring intently at the picture of me or Artemis for being Artemis. He settles on Artemis, having to also answer her question.

"Yes, you do. And speaking with the power cell is only half your mission. The other is to keep the both of them safe." He looks so annoyed and it has been so long since i've seen him like this for something I didn't do. I will savor this moment. Artemis shrinks back slightly but her pride is as strong as the Bats and she has one last question to ask.

"U-understood but...what exactly does she want with Grayson? Why him in particular?" I blink at the archer. I hadn't thought of that. Why had she asked for me? She couldn't possibly know about me being a power cell, so what made me so special?

Bats doesn't answer at first, and you can see the muscles in his face tense as he bites down on nothing. After a few seconds of silence I start to think he won't answer at all. He glances at me before looking over at the holographic picture of me. All of which successfully making me nervous. He speaks in a low even tone.

"She claims to have known his mother."


	6. Escort

They'll be here any minute! I'm not ready! I quickly pull a light sweater over my civvies. It's not particularly cold out by normal standards but i've always struggled with cold and I just feel more comfortable with it on.

I glance into the full body wall mirror and grown. I pull off the sweater again and slip it back on after folding it inside out. Luckily it's interchangeable, or we would never hear the end of it from Wally if he saw the Kid Flash logo on the front…

I spent most of the morning looking over the letter Bruce gave me, the one from the omega power cell. I lost track of time analyzing it, and the next thing I knew, I had an hour to get ready before the team got here.

And I didn't even get any real information from the letter! It just gave an address for us to meet and said that she wanted to talk to me about my mother. She didn't even give her real name! Just the code name she was assigned in Star Labs!

I haven't the slightest idea why they thought it was fitting to call her Sanity because all she's done so far is drain mine!

I flop down on my bed and stare at the ceiling. I can go head to head with gotham's worst, hack into any computer system i'm presented with, and hide half of who I am from the ones closest to me without a problem. But when it comes to a simple meeting with someone that may have known my mother, i'm a complete mess.

I roll over onto my belly and cover my head with my pillow, screaming into my mattress, and childishly flailing my legs. I'm glad Bats is out so he won't hear me, and Alfred is used to my outbursts and doesn't come up anymore. He would always awkwardly try, and comfort me and though it is sweet of him to try, it always seemed to make things worse.

I sigh, feeling better, and decide I might as well greet our 'guests' when they arrive. That's usually Alfred's job but I can't see a reason that he would mind.

I make my way down the flight of stairs, calling out to Alfred as I go. I pause about half way down and glance at the door. Alfred pulls his attention away from the door and turns to me, folding his hands behind his back. The three teens he has let in staring up at me with a mix of emotions.

"Ah, Master Dick. Your escort has arrived." I nod to him and he returns to whatever he was doing before he answered the door. I skim over the three teens briefly wondering why it was these three in particular. Then I remembered the Megan is a martian with limited knowledge as to how to act like a human and Superboy is about a month old. This was definitely the best course of action.

I walk over to them and hold out my hand, smiling politely. Kaldur is the only one that even bothers to take it. Artemis is glaring at me, already deciding that being rich automatically makes me a jerk and that she doesn't want to touch me. Wally is just staring wide eyed at me. It's making me rather uncomfortable and I return my attention to Kaldur, shaking his hand and introducing myself.

"Richard Grayson, but you can call me Dick if you want. Pleasure to meet you."

"Kaldur. And the pleasure is ours." He smiles at me then gestured to the other two. "This is Artemis and Wallace." Wally's full name being said snaps him out of his slightly creepy trance and he quickly corrects Kaldur.

"Wally." He says quickly taking my hand in both of his and shaking it. "Call me Wally." Uh...Ok dude, you're starting to really creep me out.

I glance over at Artemis. She's staring out the door like she would like to be anywhere but here. I walk up to her and hold out my hand.

"Artimis. right?" She turns to me briefly looking me in the eyes. She must not of liked what she say because she glares and turns to walk out of the door, never shaking my hand.

"We better go. We don't want to waste precious talking time." She walks out head of use and I stand there with my mouth slightly open and my hand still raised. Kaldur apologizes for her before running out to catch her. Wally is still just staring at me. I let my hand fall to my side and a worried expression platers itself across my face.

This isn't going to end well, is it?


	7. Enjoy The Show

I hadn't expected her to actually live in gothon. With the crime rate and the reputation a power cell carries with it, Gothom definitely isnt a friendly place for one. But it was definitely a gotham address on the letter. And she couldn't have picked a more perfect place to meet.

Both good and bad memories flood my head as I glance around at the circus performers. It's not Haley's but the memories are there none the less.

"What now? The letter just says here. It doesn't say where here. She could be anywhere!" For some reason Wally's phrasing bugs me. I ignore the slight irritation in favor of looking up at the circus tent set up in the center of the fair ground.

"We enjoy a day at the circus. The letter is signed 'Enjoy the show'. She wants us to watch the acts." I flap the letter in their general direction as though that would prove my point, but all it accomplishes is bringing sceptical looks to my 'escort'.

"And why would she want us to do that? I thought she wanted to talk. I'm starting to think this is all an elaborate game Mr. Wayne put together to entertain his pet project." So many nerves hit. Definitely not feeling the aster.

Wally nudges Artemis in shock. Her tendency to be judgmental without all the facts is nothing new but this...She usually shows some form of remorse for her comments.

Not now. For some reason she truly believes that i'm a bad person. She hasn't known me, well the Richard Grayson me for more than two hours and yet she has accumulated so much hate for me that it could rival Superman's hate for Darkseid.

After a brief moment of shocked silence I respond to her comment with a flat tone. My face and voice void of any emotion.

"Bruce would never bring up my mother for something like that. He knows how harmful hope can be and would never play with it. If this does turn out to be a goose chase it was not put into action by him. I don't know what it is that has you filled with hate but I have done nothing to warrant it, and nor has Bruce Wayne."

I turn away before the blonde has a chance to respond. I'm betting dangerously close to losing my temper.

Everyone had a trigger. Something that no matter how much they trained they would always rile up emotions. Bats' trigger was his parents. If you brought up his parents he would immediately change the subject, and if you press on he would soon lose his temper. How he responded to this lose of control depended on how you spoke.

If you spoke out of pity for the man left behind, he more often than not called you out, told you in a very stern and loud voice that he did not want your pity, and continued to go off on you until you no longer remembered what it was that had upset him. If you spoke out of honor to the great people that the world was robbed of, he would leave the room without a word and wouldn't be seen again for some time.

The mention of my parents did rile some emotion from me, but never to the point of me being unable to hid it. The only thing I have ever encountered that angered me the way Bats got with the mention of his parents is when someone questions his morals.

Bats saved me after what happened to my parents. He helped me bring Zocco to justice, gave me a place to live, let me fight crime alongside him so others wouldn't have to suffer through what we did. When someone trys to portray him as a bad person, questions his motives, tries to tell me that he is anything but a hero. That's my trigger. And Artemis is getting dangerously close to triggering it.

Thankfully she remains silent, though I can feel her glare on the back of my head. I make a mental note to reopen my file on the archer and try and dig up what ever tragic past she went through to taint her view of wealth so much.

Kaldur apologizes again on the archers behalf and I give him an understanding and sympathetic look. He looks like he's regretting the decision to bring her along but we both seem to realize that there was no other reasonable choice and decide to move on from the dilemma that is Artemis.

I purchase the tickets, being the only one with any real money. I didn't mind but it took quite a bit of convincing to get Kaldur and Artemis to accept them. Both refusing for very different reasons..

We found our seats easily enough. I sat between Wally and Kaldur, Artemis taking the seat to the right of the atlantian. It was strange to be in the stands of the circus rather than the ring and I spent the majority of the ten or so minutes of waiting for the show to start fidgeting uncomfortably in my seat. I figured it would only get worse when it finally did start and the thought of sitting through the trapeze act was...unappealing.

Wally must have noticed my discomfort because he nudged my arm gently to get my attention. He asked if I was ok and I gave him my best attempt at a reassuring smile and a thumbs up.

My smile must not have been very reassuring because he gave an almost equally awkward smile. He fidgeted a bit trying to think of something to make me feel better. I can't help the small giggle at his frantic attempts to keep my mind from my parents.

He smiles and starts to tell me stories about the many pranks he pulled with his friend. I can't help but smile. He seems so happy when he talks about our escapades. I intrude right after he finishes the story about how I switched the sugar with the salt. I decide to tease him a little getting a bit more then I had expected from him.

"You and you friend seen close~" I giggle and he blushes. I hadn't expected a blush. I had expected him to joke or laugh it off. He smiles sadly and looks down. I just blink in confusion for a bit.

"Yea...He got me out of a really dark place...I'm not sure where I would be right now if it wasn't for him…" He looks up at the roof of the tent and I can tell his thoughts are elsewhere. I wanted to ask him what I had done. What he meant by a dark place. What had happened and why he had never told me. Then I remembered how proud Wally was. He would never want someone to know he was in pain, physical or emotional.

"...Does he know all that?" a ask hesitantly. I'm not sure if i'm crossing the line as Richard Grayson. He's shared so many personal stories with the equivalent of a stranger already. And he'd done it to make me feel better. My words bring him back to the here and now and he looks back at me and sighs.

"Probably. I didn't tell him, he has a million and one problems of his own to worry about without adding mine, but he has a way of knowing things. I just wish I could help him with his problems the way he helped me with mine…"

"How...How do you know you haven't…?" This conversation is getting progressively more uncomfortable but something pushes me onward. Something stops me from changing the subject. Wally stares down at the ring but he doesn't seem to actually be looking at it. Hurt bubbles up in the pit of my stomach at the resentment that appears in his eyes.

His voice is gruff and strained but laced with sorrow when he speaks. I barely register the show starting as I stare at my best friend in shock, regretting every decision i had ever made.

"He has a thing about keeping secrets. It's hard to help someone sort though there life if they don't trust you enough to let you in it."


	8. Author's Note

Hey everyone, Sanity here! I just wanted to thank you all for supporting me and for all of the nice reviews! It really means a lot to me and motivates me to write more! I also wanted to tell all you Power Play fans that i made an ask power cell Robin blog! the link is on my profile if you're interested! And don't worry! The next chap will be out soon! ^.^ ~Sanity


	9. Magic Act

I didn't say anything. I couldn't. If I opened my mouth I couldn't be sure I wouldn't tell him everything right then and there. I wanted to though. More then i have ever wanted anything ever. But I couldn't lose control now. Not with so many people around. Not on a mission.

He whispers my name but I ignore him, pretending that I couldn't hear him over the applause. I know if I speak my voice will betray me. I thought doubting Bats was my only trigger but I can hardly stop myself from crying. I hadn't expected to see such resentment in my best friends eyes, even less so directed at me.

How would he react if he knew it was me sitting next to him. Listening to him vent about me? Would he resent me more if he knew I had breached his privacy? Would he hate me for knowing about yet another part of his life without ever letting him into mine?

I can't take the chance. I can't tell him. Ever. I feel the uncomfortable tickle as the tears begin to silently fall over the curve of my face. I hate crying. I never cry. Not since my parents... Wally has given up on talking to me and is now watching the show intently. He doesn't see the tears. I'm both relieved and disappointed.

I tune out the performances for the most part, focusing on calming myself. I catch the occasional word of praise and Wally's exited banter after each one. I had managed to both stop crying and dry the tears before anyone had noticed I had been crying at all. Now I was simply clearing my mind so I wouldn't start again.

I hate crying. I've fought the urge before but i've never actually broken down and cried since my parents death. I try not to show any of my real emotions. My enemies will happily use them against me and i can't give them that leverage. Wally and Bats are the only ones that have ever been able to get a genuine emotional response from me and i don't even think they realize it most of the time.

I must have closed my eyes at some point because I had to open them again when I heard Artemis call out to the three of us. I glance over at her to see that she has her gaze glued to the center ring. She seems uneasy and her eyes are determined. I suppose its better than the contempt and disdain in them when she looks at me… i make another mental reminder to dig into her past abit.

I follow her gaze and can't help but smile at the silly attire of what seems to be a magician. Various colorful boxes and a random assortment of props are scattered around the ring. Typical things for a magic act but a few things are...out of place? A few weird looking contraptions are scattered around and he's not really wearing the traditional magician's outfit.

He's wearing a top hat and suit like most magicians but he has yellow dog ears propped on the rim of his hat the kind that flop over themselves, like a retriever or a lab. He also seems to have a tail of the same color. His blond hair matches the color of the fake appendages to letter. although i'd say the main thing that caught my attention would be the goggles perched on the rim of his hat just above the dog ears.

It seems out of place for a magician to be wearing an accessory usually associated with the sciences, but after closer inspection I realize that all of his 'magic tricks' are done with those quirky inventions that I get the distinct impression he created himself. He wasn't trying to hid this fact either. It seems that his inventions were part of the act and not meant to be passed off as magic. It made for a rather unique show.

But it wasn't the magician himself that had caught the teams attention. It was his assistant. She was the girl we had come looking for. Sanity, if my memory serves. She was wearing similar attire as the boy but fitted for a girl, and had a pair of fox ears and a tail. Her hair had been dyed a pretty orange but I'm not sure if that was to help keep her hidden or if it was to accommodate the costume. And she had a pendent. It wasn't like anything I had ever seen before. It shined as though it had a life of it's own and the design of the fox loped around and hugging the girls neck was incredible detailed.

But the most notable part was the jewel. It was red, similar to a ruby but different in every way. I can't describe it. The fox loped around the girls neck so that the jewel would be held between it's nose and tail. It's head was above looking down at the jem and it seemed to be holding it with the utmost care. Whoever had crafted this pendant was incredible skilled.

I shake my head to clear my scattered thoughts. This is no time to be appraising jewelry! I return my focus to the ring focusing more on the actual act rather than the girl we had come for, or more specifically her pendent. The act ended gaining a rawr of applause from the crowd. I watched the two performers leave the ring and sit restlessly as their things were cleared from the stage.

Should we go to find them now? That would draw some attention to us but was it really a good idea to wait for the remaining acts to finish before confronting her? What if something happened while were just sitting here having our fill of the circus. What would Bats think if we lost her because we were watching circus acts?

I shake my head again. This is absurd! Nothing is going to happen in the hour still left of the show. We'll sit here until the performances are over and then we'll go find Sanity. Theres no reason to draw attention to the poor girl when we have no reason to.

"Hey, you ok?" I nearly jump out of my seat at the words. I glance over at Wally who responds to my obvious startle with an apologetic look. I blush and pout at the fact that I was started so easily and he blinks at me in surprise. I tilt my head to the side to signifi my own confusion at his reaction but he just seems more surprised. He shakes his head and rubs the back of his neck with an awkward smile.

"S-sorry you just looked alot like my friend just then.." I almost choke at his response. Was I really that obvious? How could I be so careless? Breath Dick, breath. Just play it off, just play it off. I smile, successfully hiding my internal panic. I'm even able to keep my voice steady when I speak.

"And am I not your friend?" I ask playfully hoping he focuses on the small joke instead of the fact that that is exactly what I would saw. It doesn't seem to have worked because he stumbles on his response. Wally never stumbles on his response.

"Y-yea. I mean yes your my friend. I meant another friend when I said that. Not that that makes you any less of a friend. I just meant…" I chuckle despite the fact that my facade is cracking. I'm Robin. I can fix this. As long as I stay calm I can fix this.

"It's ok Wally. You don't have to explain yourself to me." He stutters for a response but in the end settles for a simple smile and nod. He looked back at the ring as the next act finishes setting up and starts there flashy performance. I sit quietly refusing to let myself think about Wally.

We all know that didn't last long.


End file.
